PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Back in 2003 a little indie film titled Thirteen premiered at Sundance and took the world by storm. Co-written and directed by Catherine Hardwicke (in her directorial debut), the film was loosely based on actress Nikki Reed’s (who helped co-write the script) life from ages 12-13. Controversial and troubling, Thirteen introduced us to production designer-turned-director Hardwicke, a huge talent who would later direct Lords of Dogtown, Twilight, and Red Riding Hood, to name just a few.
In 2023, Catherine is back with Prisoner’s Daughter, a drama about the relationship between a daughter and her recently released father.
A father fights for the love of his daughter and grandson, after serving twelve years in prison.
To celebrate the release of the film, I chatted with Catherine via Zoom about what intrigued her about the script, the casting process, why she wanted to be a filmmaker, and more!
PopHorror: Thank you so much for your time, Catherine. I’m a huge fan.
Catherine Hardwicke: Cool! Thank you.
PopHorror: I watched Prisoner’s Daughter yesterday. It tugged at my heartstrings and made me cry. I really enjoyed it.
Catherine Hardwicke: Thank you! It’s pretty intense.
PopHorror: It is, yes. What intrigued you about the script and made you want to be a part of the project?
Catherine Hardwicke: Well, I was reading it just thinking about my father having died from the same thing. Same kind of diagnosis. What do you do in those last few months that you know you have to live? So Brian Cox’s (The Ring 2002) character really has a lot of regrets. He did a lot of bad things. But is it possible for a person to make amends, even that late in the game, and to reconnect, and get the faith and the trust of somebody that you love and let them believe. Help them to understand that you have changed and you want to make your life better. I thought that was quite compelling. And just the idea of how you right the cycle of violence. Kate Beckinsales’s (Underworld 2003) character has a father that was violent. She married someone in a way similar to her father. Now she’s raising a son and he’s getting bullied at school. How do we get out of that syndrome? When is violence necessary, or is it ever necessary?
PopHorror: Brian Cox was just amazing in this role. Blew me away. It was really nice to see him in something like this.
Catherine Hardwicke: Yes, so different. It’s interesting. He’s had so much time in prison to reflect on what he’s done, and he’s also actually gone through the program and become sober. He’s a mentor to his cellmate and other people in there. He’s thought about all this for a long time so he’s very measured and he’s very patient with all the resistance he gets from his daughter, but he still has those violent things that trigger him. So in succession we see him being verbally violent. We never see him being physically violent, except in this movie he’s very physical too. It was kind of mind-blowing. I loved seeing a different version, a father version.
PopHorror: Speaking of the cast, the rest of the cast is really amazing. Kate Beckinsale was phenomenal as well. What was your casting process like?
Catherine Hardwicke: Well, with stars like that you don’t do auditions. You hope that they respond to the material and the conversations you have with them about the film, which in this case it worked. We were honest, they liked the material, they felt their characters, that they could do something, they could live those characters. And then we had a great discussion on the phone. And then of course, other characters like Chris (Convery – Brahms: The Boy II) – a young actor like that – those characters you do audition. You do work with them. We filmed this movie during Covid so we had to do it by Zoom. But you still can talk a lot and really try to feel the character. Kate was involved also in looking at Chris, helping cast her son and ex-husband, so that was fascinating.
PopHorror: They had a great rapport, Kate and Chris. They had a great connection which makes it more believable as mother and son. This film deals with some really sensitive subject matter. How did you convey your vision to your cast and crew?
Catherine Hardwicke: You have those initial discussions, that you talk about before you even agree to shake hands and say we’re going to do this film together and be sure everybody is feeling the same. You have a few moments with actors – your wardrobe fittings, your rehearsals, your hair and makeup where you start to… It’s a surfacing but the surface is representative of the person, so it gives you that chance to connect. The actors had that bonding experience because we shot it all in that one house, really there a lot, and you really kind of feel the claustrophobia of being trapped in that little house. He’s got an ankle bracelet on. He can’t even leave the house even if he wants to. Sometimes we’d do scenes outside to escape inside, but you really did feel that you were forced to confront the other two people in your life.
PopHorror: The house was really cool too. Great choice. You have a degree in architecture. You started in a completely different career. Then you were doing product design before directing your first film, the breakout cult classic, Thirteen. People still talk about that movie today. It’s still in conversations and recommendations, which I think is amazing. What made you want to be a filmmaker?
Catherine Hardwicke: As an architect, I love architecture because it’s in a way like filmmaking. You can have a blank piece of land and you have to create something that’s a full experience when there’s nothing there. Same with a film. You might have a script or even create the script like Thirteen, and you have to figure out the whole world and structural visualization. Create and visualize, like what is this going to be? There’s similar elements. I didn’t know much about film coming from a little town in south Texas and I knew about buildings. We built things. I built a wall when I was 12 years old. All this stuff gives you a lot of confidence. But when I started to see some indie films, I thought oh my god, this is a world I never expected, and I want to be part of that world. I want to try to tell those stories, and I was lucky enough to work with some great directors – Richard Linklater, David O. Russell, Costa-Gavras, Cameron Crowe, Lisa Cholodenko, Rachel Talalay – that were very inspiring.
PopHorror: That’s amazing. What do you think your weapon of choice would be in a zombie apocalypse?
Catherine Hardwicke: Oh my god, okay. What’s the most effective? Can you help me out?
PopHorror: Most effective? Something long and sharp!
Catherine Hardwicke: I do have a couple spears that I brought back from Africa, so maybe I would get those hot tips. Heat them up, put some poison on there. Let’s go!
PopHorror: Outside of some form of transportation, I want something that I can use effectively that keeps me at a distance, like a sword. I don’t want to be anywhere near it.
Catherine Hardwicke: Like a force field! Maybe transportation is the answer because you could have like a military vehicle or armored car. Then you don’t have to be right there.
PopHorror: Yes! What is up next for you?
Catherine Hardwicke: Right now of course, we are experiencing the Writers Guild strike – I’m in the Writers Guild – and the possible SAG strike. It’s a very weird time. Things are a little bit frozen, like what’s going to happen? But there’s two beautiful projects that would take place in Italy that I plan on working on, and there’s two really cool ones in LA, so I’ve got my fingers crossed that one of those will get to happen. You never know. All the magic has to come together – actors, the financing, the schedule. But fingers crossed.
PopHorror: Fingers crossed! Just one last question for you today. What’s your favorite scary movie?
Catherine Hardwicke: There’s a lot of them. Scary movie… That’s a tough one. You really got me on that. When have I been the most terrified… Recently I loved Midsommar. That was scary, and beautiful. Actually seeing it in the daylight, a daylight horror movie? That was pretty awesome. I’ll go with that one.
Thank you so much to Catherine for taking the time to speak with us. Prisoner’s Daughter is currently in theaters.
